Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 2:20 pmPosts: 1093Location: Land of the First Kaiju

NOOooo, say it ain't so, Vegisoul has closed!! I'm in NYC now, but Vegisoul used to be so close to me and they had delicious food and an incredibly friendly owner. Blackened tofu, sexy crack tacos, blueberry lemonade... I will miss thee.

There's not really public transit to the beaches - you could try the bus but it will probably take you forever and ever. You should have pretty easy access to the trains, though, which can get you to Hollywood, all over downtown, and to Pasadena. I lived in Pasadena and absolutely love it - the South Pasadena train stop is in a super cute area for wandering around.

The Standard Hotel downtown is a pretty crazy hipstery place with a rooftop bar. It's kind of fun to check out.

Hey LA people! Can you give me your thoughts about living in LA without a car? People seem to think it's a crazy idea but in my very brief experience the public transit is totally fine. What about getting a job without a car? What about getting a job at all? What about you being my friend so I wouldn't be lonely?

_________________"No one with hair so soft and glossy could ever be bad at anything." - Tofulish

Hey LA people! Can you give me your thoughts about living in LA without a car? People seem to think it's a crazy idea but in my very brief experience the public transit is totally fine. What about getting a job without a car? What about getting a job at all? What about you being my friend so I wouldn't be lonely?

Public transportation here all depends on what neighborhood you're in and what part of town you're trying to get to. I can get from the eastside to the westside, the eastside to downtown, Century City to Silverlake, Burbank to Hollywood, etc., pretty easily. But getting from the westside to Burbank, for instance, takes way longer than it should.

The missus and I share a car, carpooling as much as possible, though sometimes our schedules conflict as far as sharing a ride. I've been able to plan accordingly when it comes to jobs and figuring out what my regular route will be, but job interviews have been harder if they've been in a part of town I haven't taken a bus to yet. Home to work and back hasn't been a problem, but work to some friends' houses has been tough, and I've often had to depend on getting rides from friends or co-workers.

Also, I haven't used the rails except once when I had to get from downtown to Hollywood on short notice, but I understand there's not as many stops in as many parts of town as people would like, though more are being set up.

If you're not already on http://www.metro.net/, play with it and figure out your routes. If you're going to be on buses all month, the TAP pass is totally worth it.

(As far as getting a job and making friends, the former is tough all over right now, and the latter can be tough in this city, but feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions about that, maybe I can point you in some helpful directions depending on your situation.)

Hey LA people! Can you give me your thoughts about living in LA without a car? People seem to think it's a crazy idea but in my very brief experience the public transit is totally fine. What about getting a job without a car? What about getting a job at all? What about you being my friend so I wouldn't be lonely?

I think my response would be very similar to BFH's. I live in an area where I don't need to drive much at all on a daily basis. On Monday, my BF and I got in our (shared) car and realized we hadn't driven since the Wednesday before. We walk long distances, though, and mainly stick to east LA. Do you have a bike? I don't and am a little scared of riding in traffic, but there is a bike path and you're allowed to ride on the sidewalk here if it's not busy (I think??). I'm getting one soon for sure. The buses are okay with me, but I don't depend on them and if I had to go somewhere far and/or complicated, I'd drive, so I hope someone who is entirely carless can chime in on this. I'm also very new to the city, so I don't know the public transit system terribly well, just a few routes. If you have google maps on your phone it makes getting around really easy. If I were carless, I think I would want to live exactly where I live now, honestly. Some areas are much more pedestrian/bike/bus friendly than others. We ended up having to unexpectedly move only a month and a half after we got here, so I've done a lot of research on different neighborhoods in the last few months. I'd be happy to help give advice on neighborhoods, etc.

Okay, jobs and friends. Can't help you there! Other than being your friend! We have our own business that we've had since before I moved here, but I want another job that uses my degree(s), but haven't been able to find one. I don't think I have tried very hard, though, and I don't fault LA for that. I hate looking for jobs. And I have not met very many friend people. But I'm sort of shy and life has been EXTREMELY complicated for me since I moved here, with my free time only recently becoming plentiful. I have been very surprised by how much I like it here (99% of what I have experienced has been nothing like what you see on TV) and the people I have met have been extremely friendly and welcoming. I'm sure not everybody is, but some definitely are. I hope I have helped some. : )

I know job hunting is tough everywhere and I don't know how LA compares to everywhere else...I would be looking for a a job involving volunteer coordination or communications for a nonprofit, or working with kids, most likely, as that's all I'm qualified for. (If only I knew how to drive I could probably get a nanny job easily, but without a license I bet that would be hard in LA.) So if anyone wants to offer me a job go ahead!

I wish I were eating a taco from Pure Luck right now.

_________________"No one with hair so soft and glossy could ever be bad at anything." - Tofulish

I have a vet recommendation for the east side -- L.A. Central Animal Hospital (220 W 26 Avenue, 90031) -- sort of the Lincoln Heights area, just north of downtown. Get an appt. with Dr. Bandele. I adore him. Caveat: the place is not fancy, and tends to service mostly lower-income immigrant families, so it's not particularly high-tech. Also, a lot of the support staff is not the best (e.g. make sure to have them give you the meds you need before you leave, etc. -- they forget this sort of stuff). For anything major (e.g. major surgery, chemotherapy) Dr. B will refer you to a specialist. But he's by far the kindest, sweetest vet I've ever gone to, he listens and explains things, and he appreciates people who take the time to understand what's going on with their animals. He and I went through a lot when my girl kitty was diagnosed with cancer last year. He would follow up and check in on her even when I was taking her to a specialist for chemo. He clearly cared very much, and when she passed away earlier this year he sent me flowers. I will always take all of my feline and canine friends to him. :)

I miss Sante La Brea. It's not vegan (or even veg) but most things on the menu can be made vegan and they have vegan pancakes and desserts.

I've been to that place. Last time I went I had nachos with a really good vegan cheese sauce on it. There's a fairly new vegetarian/vegan place in Hollywood called Doomie's Home Cookin. It's comfort food and soul food kind of stuff (like fried 'chick-un'). I highly recommend it.

So, I'm driving down to Anaheim next month, and I would like recommendations on where to eat. I'm going to be staying in the viscinity of Disneyland (although I'm not actually going to Disneyland), and I seem to remember that area being kind of a vegan wasteland of chain restaurants. I haven't been to Anaheim in years, though. I'm going to be pretty busy, so I won't have a lot of time to venture outside of that immediate area for better food options.

Right now I'm looking at Thuyen Vien and possibly Loving Hut in Orange. Any other good vegan options? I'll eat any kind of food.

I might also stop by Hugo's Tacos in Atwater Village on my way down from Sacramento (or my way back up), since it seems to be right off I-5. Anything else conveniently located near I-5 that would be worth checking out on the way into or out of town?

I'm going to be in LA May 20 - 24. If any locals want to do a meetup let me know! C'mon LA!

you picked a good time to come to town, right before the 2 best restaurants (madeleine bistro and pure luck) close! i say hit up pure luck for lunch on saturday, and get a madeleine bistro reservation for sunday brunch. be sure to book with madeleine, they will probably be a bit crowded.